Ill-gotten Gain
Money determines the value of the life you live based on how you acquire it.
In verse 19 of the first chapter of Solomon's Book of Proverbs, the author draws a line between the uncommon act of thievery and the much more common act of pursuing "ill-gotten gain." This last vice is likely something that has occurred, at some point, in every person's life. Some will have made it a habit, some a one-time temptation, and others may be fully occupied with it.
Solomon warns that if the pursuit of ill-gotten gain is successful, the result will be the loss of life for the one who gets it! The actual words used are "takes away the life of those who get it." The meaning of the phrase "takes away" is to reduce the value or importance of something. The pursuit and successful acquisition of ill-gotten gain results in the lessening or diminished value of the life of the one who achieves it.
Since you were likely raised under some moral code, you will understand why gaining through illicit or improper means devalues a person's life. However, what actions constitute the type of gain referenced may be slightly more ambiguous. I will leave this to your conscience and the Holy Spirit to direct.
I want to elaborate on the idea that gain of any sort could result in the loss of life. After all, it is much more common to believe that adding to one's life in the form of money is undoubtedly an addition to life itself. Alas, it is not. Gaining money, by any means, may add stuff to people's lives - in some cases, good stuff - but it does not add life to people's lives. Life is not found in money, and its value may be added to or taken away from based on how one chooses to pursue gain.
Why do I feel this topic is so important that I would write about it? Because my desire is that you would live life at its highest possible value. I have failed in many ways by overvaluing the need for money in my own life. I admit to my failure in this area and pray that you will not make the same mistakes as I did. Money is necessary; obtaining it through work and integrity to bless others, as well as faithfully supporting those who count on you, should be an important goal in your life. But money will not add life to your life. It will only be used to determine the value of the life you live, not based on how much you have of it but on how you acquire it.